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After church and a nice lunch on Father’s Day, we polished off the afternoon by laughing ourselves silly at the Tater Patch Players production of “Play On!” If you don’t have a sense of humor, or your doctor has warned you not to belly laugh, chortle or stifle an urge to run up on stage and participate, then by all means stay at home. However, if none of those of three conditions apply, then grab 5 or 6 of your closest friends and head on down to the Tater Patch Theater next Friday & Saturday night! (95 Philadelphia Lane – up behind Walmart.) Shows start at 7:30 pm both nights and tickets are available in advance at www.TaterPatchPlayers.org or at the stage door – if you’re feeling lucky!

“Play On!”is a play within a play and if you have ever been in even one high school, college, community, or even professional production, you will wonder whether or not the author was there with you looking over your shoulder. If you haven’t had the pleasure yet, then you will get a particularly insightful view of how the theater works and how even the most serious subject can set off howls of laughter if you have the wrong vision in your mind or the wrong words on your tongue. “Play On!” cleverly written, artifully directed by Alex Nawrocki and playfully presented by a cast of thoroughly delightful local “professionals.” Special Note to the cast: I knwo from experience that learning lines once in a single context is a challenge – learning them right, wrong and muddled in several scenes over 3 acts in an incredible accomplsihment! Great Job!

So in summary: five weeks out of surgery, I laughed til my stitches hurt – and it was worth it!

So plan ahead – make dinner reservations locally for Friday or Saturday, have a drink or too and then work it off with laughter – you’ll love it!

Today was the Bent Tree Ladies Niners Charity Golf Tournament in Bent Tree. They actually started last night with a social and Silent Auction and then went out today for the golf portion. They did a great job from start to finish and raised about $6000 for Womens’ Health here in Pickens County. Way to go ladies! There is a short video at the link below.

As many of you know I am proud to be a Rotarian and I am going to begin to share some Rotary experiences as a part of this blog. Two weeks ago at the Rotary Club Of Jasper, GA, which meets at the Appalachian Campus of Chattahoochee Technical College in beautiful downtown Jasper, our guest speaker was Mike Freeman who is the Rotary District 6910 point man for ShelterBox. Mike has been on dozens of deployments with ShelterBox all over the world and he brought us a first hand account of his most recent trip to the Philippines. This short little video was taken while we were setting up for the presentation. Enjoy!

As we pause to reflect on those that gave the greatest sacrifice so that we could enjoy our way of life today, I thought the words of Abraham Lincoln in America’s most famous Memorial Day text – long before there was a “day” for it- was particularly appropriate. Following that is a video that is a worth a moment to review. Gettysburg Address

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate – we can not consecrate – we can not hallow – this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

As we prepare to take some time on Monday to remember those fallen heroes who gave the last great measure of devotion for our great country, I thought it might be good to take a minute to reflect on what a great country it is.

The video below shows Kate Smith introducing “God Bless America” to the public. The song, originally written by Irving Berlin in 1918, was rewritten by Berlin in 1938 and then introduced and performed live on Armistice Day, November 11, 1938 by Kate Smith on her radio program. It became an immediate hit resulting in the popular demand for the sheet music. Afterwards, Berlin established the God Bless America Fund where proceeds from royalties were donated to the Boy and Girl Scouts of America.

This video is actually the re-staged version which appeared in the Warner Brothers movie, ” In the Army” In the 2nd half of the music video there are clips from the movie ( you’ll recognize some faces) with the characters listening to the song.

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How To Sell A House

How to Sell a House
(From Our Friends Over At Market Leader)

Learn more about how to sell your home by reading this summary of the home-selling process.

Decide Whether You Want to Sell

Take some time to reflect upon whether you really want and need to sell your home. The selling process takes a lot of time, patience and energy—it would be a big mistake to start selling your home if you are not absolutely sure you want to do so!

Also, learn the costs associated with selling your home. The home-selling process is stressful enough. Knowing that these expenses exist, and how much they’ll set you back, will make life a little more enjoyable throughout it!

Working with a skilled, communicative, scrupulous real estate agent will make the entire home-selling process much, much easier. Take your time in finding the right agent—one that you are confident will do a stellar job marketing your home and that will work hard to represent your best interests. Beware of agents that describe how they’ll market your home in generalities or that brush aside your questions—these are not the types of people you want to work with!

Pro tip: Don’t automatically choose to work with the first agent you find, or the agent that promises the highest listing price!

Sign a Listing Contract

Listing contracts are agreements between sellers and listing brokers that establish the terms and conditions of a listing. There is no standard listing contract that is used throughout the real estate industry; there are multiple types of listing contracts and their terms and conditions are negotiable.
Here are the three kinds of listing contracts:
• Exclusive right to sell – The most common type of listing contract.
• Open listing – For homeowners who want to sell their home by themselves but are also willing to work with a real estate agent.
• One-time show – A contract that allows a specific agent to show a FSBO (for sale by owner) home to one of their clients. Per the terms of this contract, the seller pays a commission to the agent if their client agrees to buy the home.

Your listing contract should address these important questions:
• What will the agent’s commission rate be?
• Are there any situations where the agent’s commission rate will be adjusted? (For example, if a friend decides to buy your house without the agent being involved in their decision to do so.)
• What will the length of the listing period be?
• How will disagreements between you and the agent be resolved?
• Will you and the agent use a lockbox to facilitate showings, or will you need to be present for them?
• Will your home appear in MLS (multiple listing service) listings?

Prepare Your Home for Showings

Even well kept homes that don’t require repairs need at least some cleaning and staging before they are put on the market. Keep your house vacuumed and dusted, and put knick-knacks in storage. Rearrange the furniture so that room layouts are conducive to foot traffic. Make your home as well-lit as possible by keeping curtains and blinds open, washing windows, and replacing light bulbs that are out.
It’s also important to improve curb appeal by polishing up your home’s exterior. This entails pulling weeds, mowing the lawn, and maintaining the landscaping throughout the period of time your home is on the market. If the house itself looks a little worn down, it may be wise to put on a fresh coat of paint, and powerwash the decks, patios and walkways.

Remember: your yard gives buyers their first impression of your home, so keep it in good shape!

Make the following repairs, if they are necessary. These minor cosmetic fixes don’t cost much and will do a lot to reassure potential buyers that your home is in good condition.
• Fix leaky faucets
• Replace cracked windows
• Replace jiggly doorknobs
• Repair loose handrails
While it isn’t necessary to do so, making the following improvements will increase your home’s value and lead to a higher sale price.
• Replace kitchen appliances
• Install an alarm system
• Paint walls

Price Your Home

A home seller’s best friend is their real estate agent—especially when it comes to pricing their home. Your agent’s knowledge of the local real estate market and the stats they’ll compile for comparative analysis will prove invaluable when determining the best listing price for your home.

Home pricing is largely based on what comparable homes in the area have recently sold for. “Comparables” typically have the following qualities:
• Similar age, square footage, and bedroom count
• Listed within the last six months
• Located within the same local market
Looking for more information on how to price your home? Consider the following:
• It’s not always imperative to have the lowest-priced home on your block!
• Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. They won’t attach the same sentimental value to your home that you do, so they’ll likely balk at the price if you factor sentimental value into it.
• Keep your focus on where your local housing market is going.
• If a home is well-marketed and is located in an area with a competitive market, intentionally under-pricing the home can lead to bidding wars that bring its price up to a more desirable level.

Keep Your Home in Good Condition

You never know when a potential buyer may want to see your house, so it’s important to keep it in good condition for the entire time it’s on the market. Keep it ready for showings by doing the following:
• Dust and vacuum often
• Keep bathrooms spotless
• Keep your sink free of dishes
• Keep your dishwasher clean

Consider Deal Sweeteners

In a buyer’s market, sellers sometimes add deal sweeteners to make their home seem more attractive than the competition. Deal sweeteners provide financial or psychological assistance to buyers and can serve as powerful incentives for them to make an offer!
Common deal sweeteners include:
• Buying down the homebuyer’s mortgage rate
• Paying the closing costs
• Offering a transferable home warranty

Decide What Offer to Take

From the many offers you receive, carefully choose which one you want to accept!
Pro tip: Meet every offer you don’t want to accept—even insultingly-small lowball offers—with a counteroffer. You never know when a buyer may cave and agree to pay much more than it originally seemed like they would.

Sign the Purchase Agreement and Choose a Closing Date

After you accept an offer, you will sign the purchase agreement and agree on a closing date with the buyer. Depending upon the terms of the purchase agreement (e.g. if the seller agrees to make repairs before closing), the closing date can take place six or more weeks after the agreement is signed.

Have Your Home Appraised

Have your home appraised to determine its value. Admittedly, this is something the buyer and their mortgage lender will be more concerned about. The mortgage lender hires the appraiser, and the buyer pays for their services. However, if the buyer included an appraisal contingency in their offer, your relationship with the buyer could come to a swift end if their offer price far exceeds the appraised value of the house!

Prepare for Closing

Get ready to close on the sale of your home by doing the following:
• Prepare disclosures. You must disclose every flaw and shortcoming of your home that could adversely affect the new owner’s enjoyment of it. Legal action can result if the buyer is not made aware of any problems, whether by design or by unintentional omission on the part of the seller.
• Gather and prepare necessary paperwork. This includes documents like the certificate of title.
• Keep your home in good condition. The deal can be jeopardized if you do not clean and maintain your home before closing.

Attend the Final Walkthrough

Sellers must attend the final walkthrough to answer any last-minute questions the buyer may have. Final walkthroughs take place between a few hours and a few days before closing and are meant to ensure that your home is in the agreed-upon condition. The buyer will confirm that repairs outlined in the purchase agreement have been made and that the home’s condition has remained the same since the purchase agreement was signed.

Attend the Closing

Sign a seemingly-endless stream of paperwork at the closing, and ownership of your former home will officially pass to the buyer. Every party with a claim on the money earned from the sale of the home will get paid simultaneously—your mortgage lender (if you still have an outstanding mortgage), your real estate agent, the appraiser, other third parties and, finally, you.

Looking For A Lively Conversation ?

The May meeting of " Think Out Loud" will be held next Tuesday, May 1 from 11:30 to 1 at 61 Main in Jasper.

Nancy Maxwell has suggested discussing the nature of open and closed minds as a topic for this month, in honor of the 25th anniversary of the publication of The Closing of the American Mind. So, our discussion will center on: what is a truly open mind? how do otherwise intelligent people allow their minds to be closed? how does this injure the thinking process? what are the causes of a closed mind?

If you plan to come, please confirm the host Carl Japikse at
carl@lightariel.com

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